Coast Guard terminates LORAN-C signal

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard terminated broadcast of the North American Long Range Navigation-C signal at 3 p.m. Monday with the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center in Alexandria, Va., coordinating the shutdown.

The LORAN system began as a radio-based navigation system during World War II under a secret program to provide the Allied forces with a reliable and accurate means of navigation at sea in any weather. Receivers for aircraft were eventually developed and the LORAN system expanded to all aspects of the military. LORAN Stations were first established in the Atlantic in 1942 and then in the Pacific. The LORAN system was then used by the Army Air Forces in the bombing campaign against the Japanese homeland. The Coast Guard retained and expanded the LORAN system at the end of the war for merchant and military use.

LORAN has, as a result of technological advancements in the last 20 years, become an antiquated system no longer required by the armed forces, the transportation sector or the nation’s security interests and is used only by a small percentage of the population. Continued use of limited resources to operate LORAN-C is no longer prudent use of taxpayer funds and is not allowed under the 2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act.

Notice of the termination of the signal was published in the Federal Register Jan. 7. Termination of the program was supported through the enactment of the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.

My guess is the POSAID2 conversion utility doesn’t include the Additional Secondary Factors computations that would affect any TD to lat -long converter.

Scheuer,

That is the question you need to ask your congressional critters. I do know one critter opposed the shutdown citing the GPS jamming incident on the west coast wrecking havoc on the cellular services, among others. Congress had their chance to keep it around but, they chose not to fund it. The president didn’t request funding for it. So your angst direction rightfully belongs with your critters and the President.

I had hoped cooler heads would have prevailed, but that turned into a pipe dream.